Michigan Flywheelers celebrate 30 years of old engine and tractor shows

The South Haven Tractor Cruise leaves from the museum grounds and travels to South Beach in South Haven. Over 150 tractors participated last year.Courtesy Photo

Three decades ago a small group of old engine enthusiasts decided they wanted to start an antique engine and tractor club and hauled their hit-n-miss engines to the grassy yard of a friend's house for their first show.

Probably not one of the guys in that group had any idea that within 30 years their event would become one of the largest antique engine and tractor shows in the state of Michigan let alone evolve into a 70 plus acre museum with displays and exhibits pertaining to agricultural history.

This year marks the 30th anniversary since that show began and to celebrate the milestone, the Michigan Flywheelers Museum will hold special activities during its upcoming antique engine and tractor show in September.

Slated to start Thursday, Sept. 5, the four-day event will highlight all that the museum has accomplished over the years.

"Things really took off for us when we bought this property on 68th street 18 years ago," explained museum president Patrick Ingalls. "For many years, we held our show at the Van Buren County Fairgrounds in Hartford, but it wasn't until we got our own property that we were really able to expand."

Part of that expansion included a re-organization and the decision to become a museum. Education also became a focus.

"Preserving our agricultural machinery history is very important to us," said Ingalls. "And part of preserving our history is educating people about it."

With that goal in mind, the 400 plus museum members have developed the property, which is located in Geneva Township, into an historical designation where visitors can step back into time and experience rural farm life during the 1920s.

One of the first exhibits to be moved to the museum was an original log cabin hand built by Ed Hills of South Haven. Hills, who was a museum director at the time, built the cabin at his home on nearby Moon Lake. Reminesince of the popular television series Little House on the Prairie, the cabin depicts life without indoor plumbing and electricity. Nearby is a kitchen garden and the familiar outhouse.

With the cabin in place, the next step was creating a 1920s town. Several buildings were moved to the property over the next several years. Probably the most well-known was the Lacota Depot. Donated by Gingerman Raceway, the abandoned train depot was once a stop on the Michigan Central Railway before its demise. After raising funds for the move, the building was placed in Old Towne with plans to renovated it. Unfortunately, the renovation had barely been started when the wooden structure was destroyed by fire in 2005.

As heartbreaking as it was to lose the depot, members did not let the fire stop them from moving forward. Several other buildings were moved into Old Towne and renovated. The town currently consists of an old time jail, migrant camp, farm machinery repair shop and - the museum's current project - the construction of Peaceful Knoll Church.

Another big project was the Stephenson Barn. Donated by South Haven resident Ken Kemp, the post and beam structure, which was located about two miles from the museum, was slated to be torn down to make way for a housing development.

Wanting to preserve the 100 plus year old barn, Kemp asked the museum if they would like it. After working out the details, and raising money for the move, the barn was relocated to the museum in December 2006.

Since that time, the barn has been restored and is used as a meeting place for workshops, performances and other events. This year, a warming kitchen and bathrooms will be added.

In addition to developing exhibits, the Board of Directors decided it was time to established set operating hours and also expanded the event schedule to include Farm History Day in May, a Swap Meet and Flea Market in June, Christmas at the Flywheelers in December, and its newest event - the first annual Flywheelers' "Hammer-In" in June.

Blacksmith from across the midwest met at the museum for a weekend of demonstrations, forging and creating wrought iron works of art. Held in conjunction with the Swap Meet, the Hammer In featured professional blacksmith artists as well as those wanting to learn the trade.

In addition to building exhibits and hosting events, museum volunteers spend the winter months restoring tractors and farm equipment. One of the first restorations was a 1920s John Deere hay loader. Other projects include Allis Chalmers C, Case VAC and John Deere MT.

What changes will the next 30 years bring? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure - the Michigan Flywheelers Museum will continue to preserve our agricultural history for future generations.